Christians today won the right to openly wear a cross at work in a major ruling by the European Court of Human Rights.

The decision centres on a part-time member of British Airways’ check-in staff from Twickenham who was sent home for wearing a crucifix. Nadia Eweida, 61, said: “Oh my God. I’m so pleased for Christians in the United Kingdom who now have rights. When I heard the verdict I was jumping for joy and saying ‘Thank you Jesus’. ”

Judges said BA had violated her rights under Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights which says that religious freedom is one of the “foundations” of democratic society. The court in Strasbourg said Ms Eweida, whose claims of mistreatment had been rejected by British judges, had been discriminated against and should be paid £1,600 compensation and £24,000 in costs.

Ms Eweida, a Coptic Christian, said: “It’s a vindication that Christians have a right to express their faith on par with other colleagues at work visibly and not be ashamed of their faith.”

David Cameron and the Archbishop of York Dr John Sentamu both welcomed the ruling. Writing on Twitter, Mr Cameron said: “Delighted that principle of wearing religious symbols at work has been upheld — shouldn’t suffer discrimination due to religious beliefs.” Dr Sentamu said Christians and those of other religions should be free to display their faith.

Today’s verdict came in a ruling on three other cases brought by British Christians over alleged discrimination against their faith. In one, nurse Shirley Chaplin lost her claim after the judges decided that her NHS employers were justified in banning her cross on health and safety grounds.

Islington registrar Lilian Ladele, who refused to conduct civil partnerships, and Relate counsellor Gary McFarlane, who was sacked for refusing to give therapy to gay couples, also lost their claims.

But the most far-reaching verdict was the case of Ms Eweida. She was sent home from Heathrow in September 2006 after wearing a small silver cross openly at work.

The company said her conduct was in breach of its uniform rules and that she could only continue working in an administrative job with no customer contact.

In today’s ruling, the judges said “a fair balance had not been struck” between Ms Eweida’s “right to manifest her religious belief” and “her employer’s wish to project a certain corporate image”.

The European judges added that this meant that although there was nothing in UK law specifically regulating the wearing of religious symbols and clothing at work, the British authorities “had therefore failed sufficiently to protect Ms Eweida’s right to manifest her religion” in breach of Article 9.

In a key statement of principle, which paves the way for other Christians to wear the cross at work, the judges also emphasised “the importance of freedom of religion as an essential part of the identity of believers and one of the foundations of pluralistic, democratic societies”. They added: “Freedom of religion under Article 9 includes freedom to manifest one’s religious belief, including in the workplace.”

She returned to work in 2007. British Airways said today: “Our own uniform policy was changed in 2007 to allow Miss Eweida and others to wear symbols of faith and she and other employees have been working under these arrangements for the last six years.”

Shami Chakrabarti, director of Liberty, said the British courts, which had backed BA’s conduct, had “lost their way” over Ms Eweida’s case and that today’s European ruling was a victory for equality.